James McCuen and Shawna Kalama discuss business opportunities available for beginning ranchers. Photo by Jo Lynne Seufer / USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA)
Shawna Kalama, a Warm Springs / Yakama rancher, is growing her business with the help of a microloan from the Department of Agriculture. Ben Thiel of the Risk Management Agency has more on a success story from Washington:
Shawna Kalama is a proud member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. She’s also a beginning rancher, pursuing her dream the past few years near the Cascade Mountains on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State. Kalama has successfully leveraged several USDA programs to simultaneously support both her entrepreneurial education goals and her growing livestock operation. She began earning her business degree at Heritage University, and recently participated in a risk management education program, sponsored by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). This week, the agency announced that $8.7 million in cooperative agreement funding is available for the risk management education program for fiscal year 2016. The program introduces the agency’s risk management tools, crop and livestock insurance programs and educational partnerships to new and beginning, and traditionally underserved farmers and ranchers. The curriculum includes an overview of RMA’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis tool, which identifies potential problems, and finds solutions and resources to help beginning farmers and ranchers manage risks. Nearly 90,000 producers participated in risk management education events in 2015. The funding would give organizations needed resources to develop training and education tools to help farmers and ranchers, especially those traditionally underserved or with limited resources, learn how to effectively managing long-term risks and challenges.Get the Story:
Ben Thiel: Beginning Rancher Applies Tribal Traditions and USDA Risk Management Tools to Help Grow Her Business (USDA Blog 5/5)
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